swatchgirl.com - australian nail & beauty blog

sick blogging; or how to waste a weekend

swatchgirl — Thu, 17 May 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Oh dear. I’m not well. Scratch that, I’m disgustingly sick. All it takes is a dodgy piece of spanakopita and blammo, my whole weekend is ruined. My plans for getting out into the sunshine, lolling around a nice inner-city Sydney park and reading have been nixed, and instead it’s looking like it’s nothing but blankets [...]

SWATCH&REVIEW: Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Tiger Lily

swatchgirl — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:30:00 +0000

Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Tiger Lily is a sheer warm orange lip balm that leaves a soft, buttery glaze of colour on the lips. A blend of beeswax, shea butter and coconut oil give moisture and shine without feeling either too waxy or too oily. Fine line: balanced. Sheer is the name of [...]

Wednesday Style Icon: Josephine Baker

swatchgirl — Tue, 15 May 2012 23:00:00 +0000

When it came to breaking boundaries, Josephine Baker is one of the best. She was the first black actress to star in a major motion picture, the first to racially integrate a formerly segregated concert hall, and one of the first black American women to achieve true international stardom. She also served the French Resistance by [...]

SWATCH: OPI Dulce de Leche

swatchgirl — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Sometimes you can’t go past the simple classics. OPI Dulce de Leche is a soft pinky caramel with the tiniest shot of shimmer. It’s not a high frost or sparkle polish; rather the shimmer just lifts the colour slightly and stops it from looking flat and plastic-looking. Application is up to the usual OPI standard – two [...]

SWATCH: Clinique Vitamin C Lip Smoothie in 20 Guava Good

swatchgirl — Sun, 13 May 2012 22:30:00 +0000

Another one for everyone with me on Team Lazy Makeup! Clinique Vitamin C Lip Smoothie in 20 Guava Good is a shiny moisturising gloss with sheer to medium coverage. The applicator is a handy self-filling brush applicator. I know some people hate these, but I can authoritatively say that those people are wrong. It’s a fact. So there. Winding [...]

SWATCH: Kate Moss for Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in 14

swatchgirl — Thu, 10 May 2012 22:30:00 +0000

I was out the other day, off doing whatever mysterious things I do when I’m not chained to my desk desperately trying to write interesting things for this blog, and realised that I’d left the house in such a hurry that I’d forgotten a) my keys and b) my lipstick. One of those things could [...]

SWATCH: Illamasqua nail polish in Fern

swatchgirl — Wed, 09 May 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Conventional wisdom: as the weather gets cooler, your make-up and nails should get more subdued. Berry tones. Plums. Nudes. Bullshit, I say. One of the best things about living in a country where snow is a merciful rarity confined to some out of the way corner of the mountains is that even our winters are spent [...]

Wednesday Style Icon: Jenny Kee

swatchgirl — Tue, 08 May 2012 23:00:00 +0000

I wish I could meet Jenny Kee. I want to tell her that she’s been a huge inspiration to me in one key yet frequently overlooked part of daily fashion: my glasses. I wear glasses. I wear them from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed. I don’t (can’t) wear [...]

SWATCH: Australis Colour Inject Mineral Lipstick – Hula

swatchgirl — Mon, 07 May 2012 22:30:00 +0000

Australis Colour Inject Mineral Lipstick in Hula is a limited edition shade of peachy keen fun. Loaded up with natural oils (avocado, jojoba and evening primrose, three super sources of vitamin E) and extract of Kakadu plum, one of the richest sources of vitamin C in nature, it gives a nice creamy finish without feeling waxy [...]

REVIEW: Nivea Visage Daily Essentials Fragrance Free Facial Cleansing Wipes

swatchgirl — Sun, 06 May 2012 22:30:00 +0000

Sometimes the cheap thrills are the best thrills. I use a lot of cleansing wipes, and that’s being somewhat understated. I carry a few packets in my make-up kit at all times (I love my Bioderma Micellar Solution, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes you just need something big and burly to get everything off) [...]